Chapter 1

Edna Crosby stood me up at the city hall for the marriage registration again, all for the sake of her childhood sweetheart, Nolan Page.

I received no replies when I texted her, and she never picked up when I called.

All around me, smiling couples arrived in pairs, here to register their marriages. Only I sat alone on a bench, feeling completely out of place.

When the call finally went through, it was Nolan's voice on the other end. "I'm so sorry about this, Zack. I got scratched by a stray cat, so Edna's with me at the hospital getting a rabies shot."

He said it so matter-of-factly, even with a hint of spoiled pride.

Including today, this made the fifth time Edna had stood me up.

The fourth time, Nolan had twisted his ankle, so she had rushed him to the hospital.

The third time, it suddenly rained, so she dropped everything to bring him an umbrella.

The second time, he had gotten drunk in a bar in the middle of the day, so she had been in a hurry to pick him up.

…

On all five attempts, Nolan was the reason our marriage registration failed. Every single time, she didn't hesitate to pick him over me and abandon me.

The office was wrapping up for the day, so a staff member approached and gently asked, "Excuse me. Are you still waiting to file your registration?"

I lightly shook my head. "No."

"If something came up, you can always reschedule for another day," she kindly reminded me.

"It's fine. I won't be coming back," I calmly replied.

During the past four failed attempts, I had been furious and desperate. But today, something in me lifted the moment I heard Nolan's voice on the phone.

I didn't feel that familiar panic of losing Edna or the urge to scream and demand an explanation. All I did was calmly pull out my phone and text her.

"Let's break up."

With that, I blocked her number and all social media accounts. Just like that, we were officially done.

I didn't feel like going home, so I wandered aimlessly through the streets until I pushed open the door of a cafe on the corner.

It wasn't until the familiar bluesy jazz and aroma of coffee washed over me that I suddenly realized that this was the cafe Edna frequented the most.

It was ironic that even as I tried to escape her, my instincts led me to the places she loved.

Edna and I were colleagues at the same company. To be honest, she was the one who had made the first move on me.

I still remembered her first day as a new hire when she came rushing out with a stack of files and walked straight into my arms.

Later, she told me that was the moment she decided I was the one.